


Ever After - Boyf Riends

by Magi_Zumurrd



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Constructive Criticism Welcome, Ever After - Freeform, Hurt, M/M, Not Beta Read, Pain, Post-Squip, Songfic, barely there, homestuck reference
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-08-02 04:09:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16297892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magi_Zumurrd/pseuds/Magi_Zumurrd
Summary: Inspired by a song I heard on YouTube a while ago.  This is an old work, so bear with me!It's been a week since the events of the Play, and Jeremy's out of the hospital, ready to fix his relationship with Michael.  But it seems like Michael has other ideas...





	1. Ever After - BARE

Jeremy looked around the lunchroom.  He saw the tell-tale red hoodie and white headphones characteristic of his best friend.  Relaxing, he made his way over, ready to take his usual spot at Michael’s side.  When he approached, however, he was surprised to find that Michael’s backpack was not in its usual spot under his chair, and was instead occupying Jeremy’s seat.  He blinked, stopping for a second before taking a deep breath.

_Shoulders back, chest out, easy smile… good._

He walked over, taking the seat across from Michael, sliding his backpack under his seat.  “Hey dude,” he greeted, only to be met by Michael’s eyes flicking to his, and then straight back to whatever he was doing on his phone.

Jeremy’s smile faltered, but he maintained an easygoing expression.  “So, I was wondering if you wanted to come hang out at my place later.  I just got _AotD II: The Punishing,_ and I need my Player Two–” he was cut off by Michael scoffing.

“Your _‘player two’?”_ he practically growled.  “Last I heard, _AotD II_ has a one-player mode.  What do you need me for?”

Jeremy was taken aback by the malice in Michael’s voice.  Why was he lashing out like this?  Everything else went back to normal after the Play, so why wasn’t this?  He saw Michael start to gather his things and reached out, grabbing Michael’s hand.  “Where are you going?”

“Well, you wouldn’t want to be seen with a _loser_ like me, now would you?”

Jeremy flinched at the hatred in Michael’s voice.  “What do you mean, a loser?  Michael, you’re the–”

“Save it,” Michael snaps, jerking his hand out of Jeremy’s grasp.  “What do you think I mean?  I helped you at the play because I couldn’t stand by and watch you destroy yourself like that, but now you can go back to sitting with your new friends and pretending I don’t exist.”  He turned away, a touch of sadness entering his voice.  “It’s probably easier like that anyway.”

Jeremy felt his jaw go slack.  What was Michael saying?  Did he not want to be friends anymore?  He stared at the dark, angry eyes and… nothing.  He remembered when Michael was really into a webcomic, Homestuck.  He had raved about it for weeks, even claiming that Jeremy was his moirail.

 _“It’s like a platonic soulmate!”_ Michael had said.  _“In troll society the moirails balance each other, and keep each other sane.”_

Jeremy had been so happy to be given such an important title.  Was it no longer his?

 _“You stand before me, and I barely know you,”_ he whispered.  _“Is it so easy to leave?”_   He walked around the end of the table so he could stand right in front of Michael.  _“Where is the boy who said I was his soulmate?/Where is the boy I believed?”_   He reached for Michael’s hand which practically blurred getting away from his.

Jeremy thought of how Rich told him that Michael visited him over and over in the hospital.  Thought of him rushing backstage with a bottle of Mtn Dew Red.  Thought of how hard it must have been to get it.

Thought of how he saved him.

Thought of how hurt he was at the party.

 _“Who climbed an escape grown from seeds that you planted/You slew all my giants,”_ Jeremy’s eyes widened, _“ignoring your own.”_

The party.  Jeremy ignoring him.  Calling him a loser.  How could he have been so stupid?  Of course Michael was avoiding him.  _“And now that they haunt you/I’m left with my courage, alone.”_

Michael turned to him, anger, heartbreak, and betrayal clearly present on his face.  _“So much for our ever after,”_ Jeremy whispered.  _“I thought the good guys would triumph/I trusted the hero.”_ Something about the accusatory way that Michael was looking at him made Jeremy mad.  _“I didn’t hear his goodbye/I guess it was lost in the talk,”_ his voice was getting louder, _“of a straight-acting coward!”_

 _“Who are you to go and blame this all on me?”_ Michael exploded, _“You’re the one who went ahead and changed the rules.  What?”_ he accused, pushing a finger into Jeremy’s chest.  He was stronger than he looked.  _“You found your way and now it’s all okay?”_ he held his hands out like his mind had been blown.  _“Is it that simple then?  Really?  You’re such a fool.”_ he shook his head.  _“It’s time to grow up Jeremy, put away the fairytales/Clock is striking midnight can’t you hear?”_   His face contorted in anger and his eyes seemed to well up.  _“Not all tales have happy endings, we can’t keep pretending,”_ he shut his eyes tightly, letting some of the tears leak out, _“‘Cause there’s no such thing as heroes who are QUEER!”_

The entire cafeteria was looking at them.  Jeremy was frozen, not knowing what to do.  Did Michael just confess?

Michael seemed to take Jeremy’s silence as rejection.  He shook his head, picking up his backpack.  _“So much for our ever after,”_ he lamented, _“you can’t be the same boy I followed… thought I’d always follow.”_   He scowled sadly at Jeremy.  _“You hurt me more than you know/All that I wanted was you, you were my tomorrow…”_

There was nothing Jeremy could say.  He watched, heartbroken, as his best friend walked out of his life.


	2. Not That Girl - Wicked

Michael walked out of the cafeteria, turned a corner, and collapsed into a sobbing lump of flesh on the ground.  Damn it!  Why couldn’t he just be left alone!  The play was over, the SQUIPs were gone, Jeremy got the girl, so why was he hurting again?  Why couldn’t he be happy?  Everything was back the way it was before Jake’s party, before when Jeremy broke his heart without any help from that goddamned hard drive.

All Michael wanted was to wash his hands of Jeremy, to leave the past where it belonged and move on.  Was that so wrong?  Was it so wrong to cut a toxic influence out of his life?  To leave?

He looked up at the wall in front of him.  A poster proudly proclaims the production of Shakespeare’s _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_.  Starring Christine Canigula and Jeremy Heere. 

_Christine._

Tears burned Michael’s eyes as he thought of the way Jeremy had looked at her that night.  How he’d _always_ looked at her.  It was so fundamentally different from how he’d ever looked at Michael.

 _“Hands touch,”_ he murmured, _“eyes meet.  Sudden silence, sudden heat.”_   The hatred he felt burned in him, but was fizzling out into glowing embers, the ones of his love for his Player One.  _“Hearts leap, in a giddy whirl.”_  He sighed, letting a small smile cross his face.  _“He could be that boy,”_ but of course… _“but I’m not that girl.”_   He scowled.  _“Don’t dream too far, don’t lose sight of who you are.”_   That damned SQUIP.  If not for it, Jeremy wouldn’t have left him behind.  He wouldn’t have… looked so happy…  Michael shook his head.  _“Don’t remember that rush of joy.  He could be that boy, I’m not that girl.”_  He went out to his PT Cruiser and lit a joint, staring out the window.

 _“Every so often, we long to steal/to the land of what-might-have-been,”_ he exhaled heavily, watching the smoke curl around in the air.  _“But that doesn’t soften the ache we feel/when reality sets back in.”_

He stared at the entrance to the school, seeing Jeremy walk out with… christiiiine…

 _“Blithe smile, lithe limb,”_ he whispered, _“she who’s windsome, she wins him.”_   He curled up into a ball, feeling the tears start to prick at his eyes again.  _“Black hair, with a gentle curl.”_   He looked back at the two outside.  _“That’s the girl he chose, and Heaven knows,”_ the tears finally came.  _“I’m not that girl.”_   He tucked his head between his knees, still curled into a ball.  His body was wracked with sobs, his shoulders shaking and nose running.

 _“Don’t wish,”_ he sniffled, _“don’t start.  Wishing only wounds the heart.”_   He raised his head, wiped his eyes, and started the car.  _“I wasn’t born for the rose and the pearl.”_   He gave one last look to the couple.  _“There’s a girl I know, he loves her so…”_   He looked away.  _“I’m not that girl.”_

He pulled out of the parking lot, driving back to his house.  He needed to take a mental health day.

 

 

Jeremy stood there, confused and anxious.  Michael was gay.  Michael loved him.  Did he love Michael?  He didn’t know.  He jolted as he felt a hand on his shoulder.  He turned to see a sweet, round face framed by a charcoal bob, with deep, dark chocolate eyes full of worry.

“Are you ok, Jeremy?”

He blinks, feeling a tear run down his cheek.  “No.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short guys! I've decided to make this a multi-chapter story, and I'm thinking about changing the title. If you have any song suggestions, I'd love to hear them, same for the title!
> 
> See you in the comments!


End file.
